經律異相 3.24

3.24

Mount Kunlun is the center of the continent of Jambudvīpa. The mountain consists entirely of jeweled stone. Surrounding it are five hundred caves, all of yellow gold, where five hundred arhats constantly dwell. The great Anavatapta spring surrounds the outside of the mountain. Within the mountain is flat land, with a river in its midst. On the banks of the river are four golden animal heads, from whose mouths water flows forth; each encircles once, returns to its respective cardinal direction, and pours into the four seas. That which flows from the elephant’s mouth is the Yellow River. The spring is twenty-five yojanas on each side and twenty-one li deep. Within the spring is a golden terrace, one yojana square. Atop the terrace is a golden lotus flower with stems made of the seven treasures. On the fifteenth day of each month, the Tathāgata, leading five hundred arhats, constantly expounds the precepts therein. (From the upper fascicle of the Xingqixing jing.)